“Mankind was born on Earth. It was never meant to die here.”

Well, November is finally here, which means Interstellar is out for the world to see. I caught it Tuesday and I must say it was certainly one hell of an experience.

I had the luxury of watching the film on a Cinemark Extreme Digital screen, which is as close to an IMAX screen as one can get without actually visiting an IMAX theater. As the majority of the film was shot with an IMAX camera, a signature of the film’s director Christopher Nolan, Interstellar is definitely meant for large screens. The far reaches of space couldn’t be more appropriate for 70mm film. It’s just what a filmmaker needs when wanting to put an audience into space, and take them to worlds beyond our own.

Caution: Spoilers ahead

I certainly find it appropriate to say Interstellar is the 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) of my generation, and I say that with no intention of declaring Nolan’s epic a replacement for Stanley Kubrick’s classic. In terms of Interstellar’s visual spectacle, Nolan shows us what we’ve never before seen on the big screen, just as Kubrick did at the time. And he does this without simply copying and pasting elements from 2001. It’s this factor that makes Interstellar not just a movie, but an experience. One is sure to be wowed while watching the film, particularly the sequences involving the ship Endurance traveling through the wormhole and Gargantua (a black hole).

Interstellar is more than a “space movie.” It’s a film about survival, determination, exploration, family, and most importantly, love. The emotional exchange between Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) and his daughter Murph (Mackenzie Foy) prior to his leaving for the Endurance mission is certainly one of film’s most touching moments. And this further impacts the audience near the film’s end when Cooper, staring into the moment he parted from his daughter via an extra-dimensional tesseract within the black hole, painfully screams at himself to stay behind, to choose his daughter over the mission, despite the greater good the mission is meant to serve. However, his efforts are futile as he can’t alter the past. He can only watch past events unfold as they were always meant to. It’s heartbreaking for the audience, or at least it was for me.

Cooper’s relationship with his daughter is certainly the center of the film’s story, and despite the grandness of the film’s scale and visuals, Nolan ensures the heart factor isn’t overlooked.

I’m aware of the complaints surrounding this film, and while most of them are just stupid, I still dismiss the somewhat valid points. Why? I simply loved the film. I love science-fiction, the concept of space and space travel, and I’m a huge admirer of Nolan’s films, particularly Memento (2000) and Inception (2010). The thought of Nolan taking on a space-themed project with mind-exploring elements similar to those of his previous projects intrigued me. And the cast only added to my excitement.

As many know, McConaughey’s work in films such as Dallas Buyers Club (2013), Killer Joe (2011), Mud (2012) and the series True Detective (2014) has reminded filmgoers of his ability to put on enthralling, dramatic performances. This, of course, was a major selling point for Nolan’s first directorial feature since the conclusion of his Dark Knight trilogy two years ago. I, for one, was excited to finally see a non-Batman Nolan film in a theater.

A quick point to make regarding Nolan: I hate the terms “Nolanite” and “Nolanist.” Why can’t one simply admire a filmmaker’s work because it speaks to their interests regarding film? Many of those pleased with Interstellar who defend its criticisms are in turn branded with one of the above labels, and considered empty-headed sheep who praise the work simply because of the director attached. I will admit I like all of Nolan’s films, but that’s not because Nolan made them. I admire the films because I find the films to be well-made featuring well-told stories that address subjects in which I hold interest. Nolan also strives to be original and treat film as an art form that entertains and expands the mind, and for that reason, I respect Nolan as a director.

Getting back to Interstellar, some may have found parts of the film, especially the third act, too ridiculous for their ability of suspending disbelief. I’m someone whose imagination is stimulated by the most daring aspects of science-fiction. It’s the very reason I read and watch science-fiction stories and films. Of course, poor performances and lack of interest in a particular story can affect one’s opinion, but a crew venturing through a wormhole to new worlds with the hope of saving humanity could never fail to seize my attention. But would I have retained interest, seen or loved the film had a different director or cast been involved? Who the hell knows? Frankly, it depends on those very elements, including plot details. The fact of the matter is Interstellar is here, and I love the film as it is, as opposed to whatever hypothetical scenarios disappointed viewers may conjure up.

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Real quick, I’ll address some of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Mysteries of Interstellar, or what one may perceive as complaints regarding some of the film’s plot details.

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“If you can poke through a tesseract and touch books, why not just write a note and pass it through?”

I’ll do you one better. Why not just plow yourself through the damn books and physically stop yourself from leaving? This film made clear why such interaction with the past was unachievable. Gravity was the only thing that could get through the barrier, otherwise Cooper would have certainly done more.

“Stars vastly outnumber black holes. Why is the best Earth-like planet one that orbits a black hole?”

It’s never stated that THE best planet for sustaining human life was one that orbits a black hole. The humans’ only options were those found on the other side of the wormhole, which were coincidentally near black hole. They didn’t search the whole damn universe. The best candidate of the humans’ options happened to be orbiting a black hole, yes. What else are you going to do though? Scour the rest of the universe and hope to find another viable candidate in time to save humanity? The question really is which is the lesser of two evils?

“Who in the universe would ever know the titles of all their books, from behind, on a bookshelf?”

Cooper didn’t. As I have only seen the film once, I can’t specifically recall the issue Tyson is addressing here. What I can say is that I don’t recall Cooper, at any time, recounting the names of his books while in the tesseract. The titles were irrelevant to his actions. He was observing the width of the books to correctly send the binary message to his daughter in the past.

“How a pickup truck can drive with a flat tire among densely planted corn stalks taller than it?”

He drove a dually.

“If wormholes exist among our planets, then why can’t one open up near Earth instead of Saturn?”

Who the hell knows? For one, we wouldn’t get to see the amazing shot of the Endurance passing Saturn. I don’t know squat about wormholes, but my mind supposes that if one were to open in close proximity to Earth, severe gravitational repercussions would possibly come about. Saturn on the other hand, is larger than the wormhole depicted in the film, and I therefore suspect the wormhole wouldn’t have much of an effect on the neighboring planet.

“Gotta tell you. Mars (right next door) looks way safer than those new planets they travelled to.”

Possibly, but the lack of an atmosphere capable of sustaining human life and other resources, not to mention the fact that Mars is dominated by deserts and frequent dust storms, omits the planet as a suitable candidate.

“If you crack your space helmet yet keep fighting, the planet’s air can’t be all that bad for you.”

Again, I need to see the film a second time with these statements in mind, but if I remember correctly, Cooper was no longer fighting Dr. Mann once the front of his helmet cracked. He was rolling around on the ground, struggling to survive. Plus, Mann stated earlier about how a person could breathe the air temporarily, but long-term exposure was dangerous. Cooper was never fully exposed to the foreign environment, as his helmet was only cracked. The sheet of glass didn’t completely shatter, so most of the barrier separating him from the outside air was still intact. And he still had some oxygen in his suit, so Cooper’s chances of survival weren’t all that slim given he was only compromised for several minutes before being rescued.

“Can’t imagine a future where escaping Earth via wormhole is a better plan than just fixing Earth.”

Perhaps they couldn’t “fix” Earth, or they were looking at the big picture, i.e. a long-term solution. They don’t give enough information regarding human society at that time, or what methods were already implemented to fix the planet’s problems. Judging by what took place in the film, I can only imagine there weren’t too many options left. We just don’t have all the facts.

“In this unreal future, they teach unscientific things in science class. Oh, wait. That is real.”

This is the one thing I don’t contest, as this issue is staring us in the face right now. I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Nolan November

As summer draws nearer, we moviegoers start jabbering on about the summer flicks we’re dying to see. The same even goes with pre- and post-summer films, but the point is there’s something out there we all look forward to.

This year is a big year for comic book films with two additions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe – Captain America: The Winter Soldier (April 4) and Guardians of the Galaxy (Aug. 1) –, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (April 16 intl, May 2 U.S.) and the highly anticipated X-Men: First Class sequel, X-Men: Days of Future Past (May 23).

 I, for one, am especially looking forward to Days of Future Past. It’s been more than 10 years since Bryan Singer was at the helm of the X-Men film franchise, and I must say it’s a relief to finally have him back. Now, of course, First Class wasn’t a bad film by any means; it was the best X-Men film, in my opinion, since X2 (2002). Plus, Singer was involved with First Class, so there’s that.

 Other big films this year include, but aren’t limited to, Divergent (March 21), Noah (March 28), Transcendence (April 18), Godzilla (May 16), Maleficent (May 30), Transformers: Age of Extinction (June 27), The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (Nov. 21) and The Hobbit: There and Back Again (Dec. 17).

 Some of these I’m looking forward to, and others I won’t even think about. Two films I didn’t list, however, are at the top of my list – I Origins and Interstellar.

I Origins, an independent sci-fi mystery film by Mike Cahill, tells the story of a biologist and his lab partner uncovering significant evidence with the potential to change society. These details are, of course, vague, but what I’ve taken from interviews is the film touches on a man yearning to disprove the existence of God. It stars Michael Pitt, Brit Marling and Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey.

 I Origins premiered at the Sundance Film Festival Jan. 18, and has since been picked up by Fox Searchlight Pictures for worldwide distribution. Reviews I’ve seen so far, few as they may be, have all been favorable. I’m curious to see what bigger critics and audiences have to say once the film receives a wide release, the date of which is still unknown.

Now, my reason for wanting to see I Origins actually has nothing to do with the director, the fact that it’s an independent film or even the story for that matter. I simply want to see the movie because Berges-Frisbey is in it.

 I’ll go ahead and admit I’ve had a thing for Bergès-Frisbey since I first saw her as the mermaid Syrena in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011). Due to her work primarily consisting of French and Spanish films, and Pirates being her first and only U.S. film up until I Origins, it’s been difficult for me to see her in anything else. I managed to see The Well-Digger’s Daughter (2011) (La Fille du puisatier) two years ago, my first non-English-speaking foreign film, but just that.

Left to right: Michael Pitt and Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey in I Origins

 Actually getting to see Bergès-Frisbey in another English-speaking film, in a theater I might add, is something I’ve been longing for since Pirates. I can only hope the film delivers in terms of plot and performance, but it sounds intriguing enough for me at least, and Berges-Frisbey will only be a bonus.

Now, while I’m excited to see Bergès-Frisbey in another U.S. film, my most anticipated film this year is without a doubt Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar.

Promotional title card for the film

Moviegoers are no strangers to the name Christopher Nolan. His successful Batman adaptations – Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012) – gained him a vast fan base and the ability to take on virtually any project he wishes. I love his Batman films as much as the next person, but I’m fonder of his films set outside the realm of the Dark Knight.

 Memento (2000) and Inception (2010) are definitely my favorites of his works, as well as two of my all-time favorite films, but Insomnia (2002) and The Prestige (2006) also have a lot to offer.

 Nolan has also demonstrated his ability to effectively pull off twist-endings, particularly with Memento and The Prestige, which I feel can be an upside to his films because audiences don’t quite know what to expect. This trend combined with a deep space setting, alternate dimensions and possibly time travel is something I’ve been longing for since I saw Inception.

 Several other reasons stand for my desire to see Interstellar, and make it difficult to wait for the Nov. 7 release date.

Plot

 Inception, to me, was a refreshing way of presenting science-fiction to audiences accustomed to a wealth of extra-terrestrial-related stories. Of course, we have unique sci-fi films like The Matrix, but only once in a blue moon, or so I feel.

 A Nolan film about scientists exploring a wormhole in space delivers endless possibilities of what to expect. If Interstellar is anything along the lines of a hybrid of Memento and Inception, but set in space, yeah…I’m sold.

  Writing

Left to right: Christopher and Jonathan Nolan

 Nolan’s brother Jonathon is lending his writing talents for the Interstellar script. J. Nolan is the one solely responsible for Memento, as the film was based on his short story Memento Mori. He also co-wrote the latter two films of the Dark Knight trilogy. C. Nolan is co-writing the Interstellar script with his brother, and he already demonstrated his solo writing abilities with Inception.

 Given these two, I would be surprised if the story is disappointing by any means. Then again, this varies on one and their interests, as the world is full of people without a care for Nolan’s works.

Cast

 Nolan’s films are well-known for excellent performances. Interstellar presents a cast featuring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain and Michael Caine, among many others.

 McConaughey, whom I’ve always been fond of for his humor, is becoming one of my favorite actors due to his recent undertaking of serious work. Killer Joe (2011) forever changed the way I’ll look at him as an actor, in a good way. He was beyond incredible in the HBO series True Detective (2014), and his recent winning Best Actor at the Academy Awards for Dallas Buyers Club (2013) is taking him to new territories in his career. Now, he may just be exploring entirely new dimensions in Interstellar.

 I can only imagine what McConaughey will bring to the story, and I’m certainly looking forward to seeing him in the film. That being said, Hathaway has never disappointed me either, and because it looks like she’s the film’s female lead, I’m all the more anxious to see her and McConaughey play opposite one another.

 Chastain is another up-and-comer in the world of film, receiving two Academy Award nominations for The Help (2011) and Zero Dark Thirty (2012), and Caine is never a disappointment, nor a stranger to Nolan’s works.

Left to right, top to bottom: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain and Michael Caine

 The rest of the cast at this point includes Casey Affleck, Wes Bentley, Ellen Burstyn, Leah Cairns, Matt Damon, William Devane, Mackenzie Foy, Elyes Gabel, Topher Grace, David Gyasi, Bill Irwin, John Lithgow and David Oyelowo.

Score

Hans Zimmer at the 2014 Golden Globe Awards

 The musical score is the critical element that delivers 50% of a film. It delivers the extra boost in emotional depth and pace within the story.

 Hans Zimmer is one of the most well-known film composers next to John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Thomas Newman and Alan Silvestri. His scores for The Lion King (1994), Gladiator (2000), the Pirates of the Caribbean series (2003-present), the Dark Knight trilogy, the Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes series (2009-present) and Inception have shown audiences his knack for supplementing both action and emotion.

 Like Caine, Zimmer is also no stranger to Nolan. Of Nolan’s eight films, not including Interstellar, Zimmer has scored four. His score for Inception is my favorite of the four, and I’m excited to hear what he has to offer Nolan’s new sci-fi journey. That being said, this is still the one area in which I have some disappointment.

 I was hoping to see Nolan reunite with David Julyan, the composer of Nolan’s first three films and The Prestige, for Interstellar. Interstellar would have been Julyan’s first project with Nolan in eight years.

Re, Mi, Do, Do, Sol: Reflecting on Close Encounters

“I thought it was really interesting we didn’t have to journey to the stars to make our discoveries, but, in fact, beings from other stars had journeyed to our planet.” – Steven Spielberg

(Caution: Major spoilers ahead)

Today marks the 36th anniversary of the release of Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, his third feature-film and first after Jaws (1975).

1977 was a memorable year for science-fiction cinema, with Star Wars releasing in May and Close Encounters in November. While George Lucas’ space-fantasy took us to a galaxy far far away, Spielberg stayed home, playing on the phenomenon of UFOs and visitors from other worlds.

Richard Dreyfuss as Roy Neary

Close Encounters tells the story of Indiana electrical lineman Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss), who witnesses a UFO fly over his truck while on a job; something he “can’t explain.”  Neary soon becomes obsessed with visions of an abstract shape that “means something,” and partnering with Jillian Guiler (Melinda Dillon), whose 3-year-old son Barry (Cary Guffey) is abducted by the mysterious visitors, Neary follows his visions to Devil’s Tower in Wyoming, hoping to find answers.

Theatrical release poster

This isn’t your War of the Worlds extraterrestrial film.  Rather than invasion and destruction, Close Encounters touches on family, friendship, engaging curiosity and taking chances.  Dreyfuss’ portrayal of Neary’s detachment and dissatisfaction with his family life is emotional to say the least.  It’s this dissatisfaction that leads him to leave his family behind and pursue his curiosity surrounding the extraterrestrials.

The film’s title comes from Dr. Josef Allen Hynek’s close encounter classification system:

First kind – sighting

Second kind – physical evidence

Third kind – physical contact

“A close encounter of the third kind is really when you meet them,” Spielberg says in The Making of Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Spielberg was a firm believer in the UFO phenomenon growing up; the seed for what became Close Encounters and Spielberg’s interest in telling stories of worlds beyond our own.

Paired with special effects rivaling Star Wars, John Williams, who scored both films, provides audiences with an awe-inspiring atmosphere.  The notorious five-note melody stays in the viewer’s mind not only as a musical theme to the film, but a universal phrase for friendship.

Thirty-six years later, Close Encounters continues to capture viewers’ imaginations, and like E.T., the film reminds us that in a world full of hate, it’s still possible for friendship to prevail between the most unlikely individuals.

Barry (Cary Guffey) staring into the lights of a visitor craft

As long as I can remember, science-fiction has been my favorite genre of film. I can only attribute this to the flawless ability of such stories to captivate and inspire. So, to further honor Spielberg’s 1977 classic, and celebrate science-fiction, I conclude this post by sharing my 10 favorite science-fiction films.

10. The Matrix (1999)

I remember my mom getting this on VHS through a mail-order rewards deal.  I didn’t watch it for several years because she always said it looked dumb.  A friend of mine in middle school persuaded me to watch it, after which I was blown away.  I thought it was one of the most awesome movies I had ever seen, but I still didn’t quite understand it until some time later.

As an adult, I find The Matrix to be one of the more unique sci-fi films out there because of its use of machines and computer programming.  Agent Smith’s comparing human beings to a virus rather than mammals because of our behavior is a particular concept that’s stuck with me in recent years.

The idea of your entire world and life being a computer simulation is scary and hard to comprehend.  The question of whether your world is real (a subject that will come up again on this list) is one a person can get lost in, and this film is built around that question.

Awesome fight sequences and special effects, along with many memorable moments like “the Red Pill or the Blue Pill” and the infamous Keanu Reeves bullet dodge, make The Matrix a worthy addition to one’s sci-fi collection.  Not to mention the film has one of my favorite endings in cinema: “Where we go from there…is a choice I leave to you,” followed by Rage Against the Machine…Epic.

And this ending is precisely why The Matrix is perfect as a stand-alone film.

9. Predator (1987)

Only when exposed to another being or civilization far more advanced than our own do we realize how inferior we are in the grand scheme. This is why Predator appears on this list.

It seems we humans never think of anything being out of our league in the universe. The Predator, one of the most amazing characters created in science-fiction, is a reminder of our true place.

I’m not saying that the intention of Predator was to point all this out. After all Arnold DID win (human superiority). It’s just nice when some movies show that we’re not as superior as we think. Something to remember.

A wake-up call combined with a fantastic piece of science-fiction/action-entertainment is why I love Predator.  That and the fact that the Predator having a 7/8 meter heartbeat is just beyond awesome.

8. Blade Runner: The Final Cut (OR 1982, FC 2007)

This is the film my uncle deems the greatest science-fiction film of all time, along with the majority of sci-fi moviegoers.  While it’s not my favorite, Blade Runner is certainly one of the, if not THE most influential films in science-fiction cinema, and I can objectively recognize its status in the genre.

If it weren’t for my uncle, I wouldn’t have seen this film for the first time three years ago.  I can amusingly say I watched this against my will because he was going to make sure my brother and I experienced Blade Runner before leaving his house.  I’ll admit we weren’t sure what to make of it after our first viewing.  However, after multiple viewings, including that of the theatrical and international cuts, I’ve grown attached to Ridley Scott’s android thriller.

Him having made both Alien and Blade Runner, I like to say Ridley Scott is the man responsible for science-fiction thrillers in cinema.  I find Blade Runner to be the stronger film though, as it has a cinematic approach similar to Alien, but with a more personal touch.  And come on, it’s Harrison Ford, man.

No doubt about it, Blade Runner is a hell of a film.  The only question is: Is Deckard a replicant?

7. Independence Day (1996)

Next to Jaws, this is the film you watch every Fourth of July in the United States.  People can say whatever they want about this film’s plot, specifically regarding the ending, and they can suck it too.  ID4 is the standard I hold for every alien invasion film made since 1996.

You have city-sized ships, ultimate destruction, dogfights, Jeff Goldblum being a nerd’s nerd, Will Smith beating the crap out of an alien captive, Area-51 and an eerie autopsy…what’s not to like?

I didn’t hear people complaining about the film’s ending until I got to college, and I must admit I was struck dumb by such talk.

At 6 years old, this was my first alien film.  I loved and was obsessed with the movie, even getting one of the alien figures for Christmas that year.  Of course, there were still moments that scared me, notably the clip below.  I saw this in the theater at least twice, and after the first viewing, I remember not wanting to look when the alien awakes during the autopsy.

6. Inception (2010)

Are we awake or are we dreaming?  Is our world real?

These are three of many questions presented by Christoper Nolan’s mind-navigating sci-fi thriller.  The thought of people being able to invade your mind via dreams and steal your secrets is certainly one of the film’s scarier notions, but apparently such actions are simple as opposed to planting an idea in one’s mind.

When this film came out I only heard about how confusing it was, and that one had to see it several times to understand the ending.  I finally saw it at my sister’s apartment the following Christmas and the first thing I thought was, “What the hell are people talking about?”  I had no trouble following Inception, and thought the contrast between dream levels was pretty straightforward.  Then the ending came with the spinning top and abrupt cut to black, and I thought, “Oh.”

Everyone has their own interpretation, mine being that Cobb was awake and finally reunited with his children.  For one, what kind of shitty ending would that be if he didn’t?  The film’s only been leading up to that moment for 2 ½ hours.  Plus, come on…the top is clearly about to fall.

What people probably fail to take away from Inception is it doesn’t matter whether Cobb was awake.  The point is he finally decided to let go, which is a more powerful message than the status of reality.

This film has, without a doubt, the greatest special/visual effects used in modern cinema.  As a filmgoer, I respect and admire Nolan’s reliance on practical effects.  In a cinematic world where CGI is everywhere, practical effects only become more important in terms of enhancing realism.  If I had a top-10 list of special/visual effects shots, the scene in which Joseph Gordon-Levitt fights a projection in the gravity-shifting hallway would definitely be among the top 5 slots.

5. Back to the Future (1985)

Best time travel movie ever.

Whenever someone hears the words “time machine,” how much do you want to bet they picture a DeLorean?

When I saw this film at the age of 4, I remember my mom got me to watch it by telling me “the guy from Teen Wolf” was in it.  This simply became another one of those movies that stuck with me.  Aside from the humor and awesome concept of time travel, the biggest impact Back to the Future had on me was introducing me to rock and roll.

The attention to detail and cultural differences between 1985 and 1955 portrayed in the film are another factor that make Back to the Future stand out among time travel movies.  Some of the best include Doc’s laughing at the idea of Ronald Reagan being president, and Lorraine’s father’s reaction to Marty saying “John F. Kennedy Drive.” – “Who the hell is John F. Kennedy?”

And I, for one, am fond of the sequels, but still recognize the original as the staple of the time travel genre.  Who can forget that moment when Einstein becomes the world’s first time traveller?

4. The Iron Giant (1999)

This film is an example of how animation can emotionally trump live-action.  The bond between a little boy and an extraterrestrial machine The Iron Giant presents is so convincing, you almost forget your watching a cartoon.

Many will say this is the best non-Disney animated film out there, and while I agree, I would even put it up in the top 10 animated films of all time.

One of the things I love most about this movie is the depiction of 1950s American culture, like the fear of Communism and atomic holocaust with the duck-and-cover video shown in Hogarth’s school.  The whole film just has that 1950s sci-fi B-movie feel to it, even with it being animated.

Of course, my favorite part is the Giant’s reaction to what appears to be Hogarth’s death.  The anger and sadness mixed with regaining his memory result in a hostile response toward U.S. military forces.  One of his weapons, which I can only describe as a “disapparator,” (stemming from Harry Potter lingo) is one of the most badass things I have ever seen in science-fiction.

3. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

I first saw T2 in the summer of 2000 while on vacation in Destin, Florida.  The thing that stuck in my mind after watching it wasn’t the T-1000, which some might expect, but Sarah’s dream of Los Angeles being nuked.  That scene scared the hell out of me as a child, and to date, remains one of the scariest scenes I have ever seen in a movie.

This film introduced me to what a nuclear weapon was and what it could do (I didn’t see The Iron Giant until later, and in that film, nukes aren’t depicted in the same manner as T2 ).  After seeing that sequence as a 10-year-old, and learning that nukes were very real, it terrified me that something like that could actually happen, however unlikely.

T2 was one of those instances where I saw the sequel before the original, which made for a more interesting experience because I didn’t know who John Connor’s father was, and I couldn’t understand why Sarah was so afraid and distrusting of Arnold, despite the fact he was the hero.

There are many memorable moments from T2, like Arnold using a shotgun while riding a motorcycle and the protagonists blowing up Cyberdyne Systems.  But of course, the most awesome part of this film is unmistakably the T-1000.

Next to Vader, the T-1000 is the best movie villain, hands down.  From a technical standpoint, seeing Robert Patrick morph into other people and form weapons with his hands was an awe-striking sight for moviegoers, showing just where CGI was taking the film industry.  From a story standpoint, how in the hell do you defeat a liquid-metal killer?  There’s a surefire solution, of course, for those who have seen the film, and if you haven’t, I don’t know where the hell you’ve been for the past 22 years.

The T-1000 has many kick-ass moments, but my favorite, which, sadly, isn’t featured in the clip below due to availability, is the first brawl between it and Arnold in the steel mill.

Arnold throws the T-1000 against a metal surface, face-first, but this proves useless because the T-1000 morphs its body from front to back, standing face-to-face with Arnold once again.  Arnold then decides to punch the T-1000 in the face; another failure.  The T-1000 begins to morph once more with Arnold’s fist trapped in the shifting alloy.  It morphs its head into its hands, giving the T-1000 a firm hold on Arnold.  So…Arnold is basically screwed.

T-1000 = Sheer badassery

2. Jurassic Park (1993)

I know what some may be thinking.  “Jurassic Park is action-adventure.”  Yes, but at its core, Jurassic Park is a science-fiction story.  Scientists resurrecting extinct animals via genetic-engineering is the basis for Michael Crichton’s novel, which transfers over into Spielberg’s film adaptation, making Jurassic Park an unquestionable addition to the science-fiction genre.

Like with Back to the Future, I saw this movie when I was 4.  I was blown away then, and am still blown away today.  Some kids were probably scared of this movie when they saw it.  My sister said the Dilophosaurus scene scares her to this day, and she’s in her late 20s.  From what I remember, this film didn’t scare me at all.  I think I was so mesmerized by Jurassic Park that it was impossible for me to be scared.

Sadly, I didn’t get to see this in theaters in 1993, so VHS was my first experience, which only made this spring’s 20^th anniversary 3D re-release all the more important to me.

I saw the re-relesae twice, once in IMAX, and I was amazed at how well Jurassic Park has held up on the big screen.  Industrial Light & Magic’s effects are simply top-notch.  They executed the blending of animatronics and CGI to the best of their ability for the purpose of showing moviegoers living animals, and succeeded.

Like Jaws and the Star Wars trilogy, there isn’t one damn thing I find wrong with this movie.  Everything from the acting to the effects and music is perfect.  Funny coincidence that all five scores just happen to be composed by John Williams.  And for anyone who questions the sudden appearance of the sheer drop in the Tyrannosaurus escape, please check out this image.

Jurassic Park, of course, set the standard for use of digital effects in the film industry.  This changed movie making in the way Star Wars did in 1977.  It took the potential for enhancing the illusion of film a step forward, and where many films have attempted to either replicate or top Jurassic Park, many always fall short.

In an interview with Phil Tippet and Dennis Muren, two of the special effects artists who worked on Jurassic Park, the two were asked if special effects have gotten better, or to the point where they’re completely unrealistic.  After a brief silence, Muren says special effects have gotten “bigger.”  Tippet then adds, “Not better. It’s kind of like symphonies at the end of the 19^th century. All they could do was get louder and longer. And where’s the symphony now?”

Food for thought.

1. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Referred by some as Star Wars Episode V, the sequel to George Lucas’ 1977 classic probably had moviegoers thinking, “Oh, there’s no way this can top the first one.”  Oh how wrong they were.

Empire is arguably the best film in the Star Wars franchise because of the overall intensity and drama, Vader’s relentlessness, the introduction of Boba Fett and Yoda, the Battle of Hoth, the romance between Han and Leia, and the twist at the film’s climax.  Like the original Star Wars, Empire includes many humorous elements, but at the same time, takes the maturity level a step above its predecessor.

As always, John Williams provides the audience with an emotionally-engaging soundtrack.  For some who may not know, Empire is the first Star Wars film to use “The Imperial March,” the notorious music commonly known as the Darth Vader theme; just one more element that heightens Empire’s quality.

While it is true that the Star Wars franchise is more space-fantasy than science fiction, the galactic setting makes it impossible for me not to include Empire on this list.  When you’re in the mood for a science-fiction/space film, Empire has everything you want.  And why Empire and not the original Star Wars?  Empire is simply my favorite Star Wars film.

I think we have a lot to expect from the new films Disney and Lucasfilm plan to release, but no matter their attempts, I don’t see another Star Wars film achieving the quality of The Empire Strikes Back.